After 50 Years, Preservation Group Graduates from Tenant to Owner at Colonial Schoolhouse

by Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

After leasing the Brick School House from the city of Providence for a half-century, the Providence Preservation Society is graduating from the historic building’s long-time tenant to its new owner.

The organization is acquiring the Brick School House with the help of a $341,500 grant from The Champlin Foundations. PPS intends to repurpose the building as its Center for Preservation Education.

Located at 24 Meeting Street, the historic building was built in 1769 and was part of Providence’s civic center during the colonial era. It is one of the city’s few surviving 18th-century buildings.

PPS has invested nearly $250,000 in capital improvements. Plans call for restoration of the building’s exterior and measures to stabilize the structure. Also on the agenda is a restoration of the School House’s roof, which will be funded with the assistance of a $14,400 matching grant from the 1772 Foundation. Consultants for the renovation include Ed Wojcik Architect Ltd, Peter Borgemeister, Architect, and the landscape architecture firm of Searle and Searle.

“Throughout 50 years of occupancy and stewardship, PPS has worked to retain the character of the historically significant Brick School House,” commented James Brayton Hall, the executive director of PPS.. “By receiving the funds to purchase the building from The Champlin Foundations, we can make this historic structure a safe, accessible, and available resource for the City of Providence.”
Photo credits: www.ppsri.org